Endermen are neutral 3-block tall mobs from the video game Minecraft that spawn in huge numbers. They are group of extraterrestrial creatures from an alternate dimension adjacent to our own known as The End. They were heavily inspired by the Slender Man with their design and behavior being very reminiscent of his, most notably their abnormal height and lanky arms.
Endermen are humanoid, stick figure styled creatures with long arms and legs, glowing purple eyes, and have a purple particle effect surrounding their body. Though not directly hostile, they are apparently extremely territorial and will attack anything that looks them in the face or attacks them first.
Origin
A group of Endermen, from the very first teaser screenshot.
On July 26th 2011 Minecraft's creator, Markus "Notch" Persson posted a screenshot of a new mob added to the Beta 1.8 version of the game on his Google + account. In a Reddit post from the same day, Notch announced their official name would be Enderman as a reference to a user called drodeznop who jokingly referred to them as Slender Man. Because of the similarities in names and abilities with the Slender Man mythos, 4chan users from the /v/ board launched a petition to change the Enderman’s name to "Far Landers". The petition failed and the name has remained the same since the original Reddit post. Notch even wrote a tweet joking about the initiative. They are always saying "you smell" in there own language.
Behavior
Endermen are passive until the player places the crosshair directly over them. As long as the crosshair is still, the mob will remain frozen staring back at the player. Once the crosshair is moved, they become aggressive and will either run or teleport toward the player to attack. Endermen can be defeated by luring them into water, fire or lava, which rapidly decreases their health pool. They were initially created with the controversial ability to move both natural and player placed blocks, which could destroy player-created structures. and they won't let you shoot/throw eggs arrows and snowballs at them.
Similarities and Differences to Slender Man
| Enderman | Slender Man |
|---|---|
| Both are abnormally tall. | |
| Both have the ability to teleport. | |
| Both generally act as passive observers and will not attack others unless they are provoked. | |
| Endermen originate from a different plane of existence. | Slender Man does not have a commonly accepted place of origin. |
| Endermen are a collection of creatures that share the same appearance, abilities, behavior, and name. | Slender Man appears to be a singular entity who is not a member of a species. |
| Endermen have eyes. | Slender Man lacks any facial features. |
| Endermen have been known to run in order to keep up with targets. | Slender Man is completely reliant on teleporting or his tentacles in order to move. |
Trivia
- Minecraft's Halloween texture pack features Slender Man as an alternate costume for Enderman.
- When the Mutant Enderman from the Mutant Creatures Mod attacks players, it has four arms instead of two arms. This resembles Slender Man's tentacles.
- The shrieks made by the Endermen might be a slight nod to Slender Man's video/audio disrupting abilities.
